On Feb. 25, 2012, plaintiff Clara Ortiz, 60, was shopping at a Dollar Tree Store in Santa Clara when she allegedly encountered a large stream of water, causing her to slip and fall. Ortiz sustained to her neck and back. Ortiz sued Dollar Tree Stores Inc. Plaintiff’s counsel contended that information was obtained during discovery showing that the source of the water was from overflowing toilets in the “employees only” area. Counsel contended that management was aware of the occurrence, as the toilets in both the men’s and women’s restrooms had backed up in the past due to flushing of excessive paper and non-flushable items. Plaintiff’s counsel argued that despite this knowledge, the store never did anything to guard against the toilet backing up again. Defense counsel contended that the Dollar Tree store conducted a reasonable inspection process and that it did not see any water stemming from the toilet. Counsel also denied the store had control of the toilet. In response, plaintiff’s counsel argued that the defense’s claim that there were inspections was speculative, at best, as a written inspection was claimed but the report was allegedly lost by a manager who claimed to have sent it to another law firm and had no documentation of it. Thus, plaintiff’s counsel established that the store had control of the toilet in question, and the jury was instructed on res ipsa loquitur., Ortiz claimed that she was embarrassed after her fall, but still reported the incident to a store manager. However after she went home, she started to feel pain in her neck and lower back that evening. The following day, she returned to the store, believing the store would direct her to suitable medical help, and was told someone would call her, but no one did. As a result, Ortiz went to the store again the following day. Three or four days after the incident, Ortiz presented to her primary care physician with complaints of pain to her neck and back. An MRI was performed and was positive for to her lower back and neck. Ortiz subsequently treated with her primary care physician before being referred to an orthopedist, where she received physical therapy, chiropractic treatment and acupuncture. She also had several MRIs for her neck, back and arm. The plaintiff’s orthopedic surgery expert opined that the lower back injury was caused by the subject fall, but could not be able to relate the neck injury to the fall. The expert also recommended that Ortiz undergo epidural injections, and ultimately believed that Ortiz would be a candidate for a lumbar and cervical discectomy. However, Ortiz refused this treatment and continued with her conservative care for about two years. Defense counsel argued that all of Ortiz’s were degenerative in nature, and not caused or aggravated by the alleged fall.